Third year in a row IAS Performance and Texas Tires and Parts has hosted this event to provide Texas drifters with track time at Houston Police Academy. Luckily we were at the event as usual to provide coverage of both solo and tandem runs. Enjoy the picture gallery below and be sure to like both company facebook page’ for all your drift car equipment needs.

White sandy beaches, cool blue water and palm trees. Is that what comes to mind when we mention the words “Long Beach?” You won’t technically see any of those with the exception of palm trees in our latest blog roll of pictures but you will see a lot of unique rides. Our second year in a row visiting Auto Con and it doesn’t let us down. See why in the photos that follow below.

Through IAS Performance with Texas Tires and Parts brings to you a driver invite only drift event. This happens only once a year during off-season due to the fact that both drivers (Randall Waters and Rudy Martinez) are heavily involved in Formula Drift and Lone Star Drift Pro-Am during on-season. So what is this Bash event? An all out exhibition so drivers can get all the practice both solo and tandem drifting in to hone in on their craft on all levels of experience. Thanks to Houston Police Academy for lending the track for this event!

Here is a look at what went down! If you are the driver of any of these cars or know any of them please direct them here for HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS!

Welcome to the final part of the picture post from our trip to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. The rebirth of this museum has been taken to a whole new level for the automobile. This final portion you will see the true pioneers of the automobile and sports car origins. The standards of the sports car began here! Enjoy the pictures that we took plus a few excerpts cited from the Petersen Automotive Museum!

“The Type 55 was the ultimate sports car, fitted with the same twin-cam supercharged engine used on the Type 51 Grand Prix car and cloaked in a sleek racing body accented by the refined touches of a luxury coach. Jean Bugatti’s love for sporty, luxurious lines is manifest in this Grand Prix-style coachwork, which is characterized by long, sweeping fenders, Grand Prix wheels with integrated drum brakes, a rounded tail, and a spare wheel mounted on the rear. This car looked and ran like a race car and set a standard for sports models of the day.”

“The Type 50 continued Bugatti’s established luxury vehicle design precepts, but differentiated from its predecessors by having a supercharged engine designed by Ettore Bugatti. The use of inclined valves, inspired by the Millers that raced successfully at Monza, made the Type 50 so powerful the British Bugatti agency was reluctant to sell them for use on tiny British roads. This custom body resembles the style of the factory’s Fiacre designs, which were created by Jean Bugatti.”

As the Great Depression spread to Europe, Bugatti saw the need for a more “realistic” grand touring model that was more affordable and accessible than previous models. Essentially a scaled-down version of the 1927 Type 41 Royale, the Type 46 was produced from 1929 to 1933 and was available as a cabriolet, sedan, limousine or coupé. This Type 46 is fitted with convertible coupé coachwork and has a rumble seat. Its more traditional coachwork honors the Jean Bugatti style. Only sixty of nearly five hundred Type 46s are known to have survived.

The Ventoux body style was one of the purest of Jean Bugatti’s design concepts for the Type 57 series, owing much of its style to his dramatic Profilée design for the Type 50. In 1950 this car joined the private Dovaz Collection on a farm near Paris, where it sat in a barn, undisturbed, for almost four decades. The 1986 German photography book, “Sleeping Beauties,” publicized the discovery of the collection, creating unwanted attention for Dovaz who then moved the collection to another hidden location. This car was auctioned in 1993 and restored by Bugatti expert Andre Lecoq.

The high performance EB 110 series, named in honor of the 110th anniversary of Ettore Bugatti’s birth, was unveiled in 1991. It was billed as the most technologically advanced sports car ever produced thanks to its ultra-modern body design that evoked the spirit of Molsheim-era Bugattis. This EB 110 Super Sport is one of three that were prepared for the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It has an upgraded engine for competition use and it is significantly light and more aerodynamic, with bodywork made of aluminum, carbon and Kevlar fiber.

Road cars or race cars, old cars or new cars; it makes little difference to me because I’m fascinated by all of them. The Petersen Automotive museum houses all types of cars under one roof. Below you will find some of my favorites from the second level of this one of a kind auto museum.

Disney Pixar Cars – Lightning McQueen

The Pixar Cars Mechanical Institute at the Petersen Automotive Museum features a life-size Lightning McQueen. The partnership with Disney Pixar allows visitors of all ages can experience the inspiration and creation of the Pixar movie Cars. Visitors can see Lightning McQueen and many other Disney Pixar Cars movie creation at the remodeled Petersen Automotive Museum.

Intended as an homage to the classic Shelby Daytona Coupe, this Ford GR-1 concept was designed at Ford’s Advanced Design Center in Irvine, California. J Mays, graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design and then-Chief Creative Officer for Ford, first noticed George Saridakis’ sketches of the GR-1 at a design review and encouraged the young designer to model his vision in clay as quickly as possible. The finished concept was executed with merely three reference sketches.

The Porsche GT1 is the first mid-engine 911, and the first 911 to feature a water-cooled engine.Porsche constructed a small series of three GT1’s for the 1997 FIA GT Championship, all of which were based on 911 GT2 Works team cars. This car (Chassis #101) competed at Le Mans Sebring and Laguna Seca.It also won the Three Hours of Zhuhai in China and successfully competed in the British GT Series.An unusually successful car the GT1 ultimately won eight races and achieved 21podium finishes of the 36 competitions in which it was entered.

A latecomer to Trans-Am racing, Chrysler’s Plymouth division backed three cars prepared by AAR in 1970, and driven by Dan Gurney and Swede Savage. To comply with Trans-Am rules, the engine was a destroked 340 cubic inch V-8. Gurney drove this car throughout the 1970 season, including his last professional race at Riverside where he qualified third and finished fifth.Shortly after the end of the season, the car was sold to Chrysler France, where it was raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans and European hill climbs.The car returned to the U.S. in the 1990s, where its original AAR livery was found still intact under layers of paint.

Driven by Bobby Unser, this All American Racers team car won the Indianapolis 500 in 1975. It was the first Indianapolis 500 victory for sponsor Earle M. Jorgensen, founder of Jorgensen Steel Corporation, the second for driver Bobby Unser, the third for car builder Dan Gurney and the thirtieth for a Drake-Offenhauser engine.The 1974 USAC National Championship winning “Olsonite Eagle” was repainted in Jorgensen blue and given the traditional Gurney #48 for the 1975 season.

The Toyota-powered Eagle Mk III GTP car was the culmination of a decade-long partnership between AAR and Toyota.AAR’s chief designer John Ward and aerodynamicist Hiro Fujimori designed the GTP Mk III and Toyota Racing Development supplied the turbocharged 16-valve DOHC inline-four cylinder engine.In addition to winning two manufacturers and two drivers championships, the Eagle MK III GTP car won every race in which it entered, including a record 17 consecutive victories.

Designed For Victory: Mercedes-Benz introduced the innovative W196 for its return to Grand Prix racing in 1954. It featured a fuel-injected straight-eight engine, a five-speed transmission, a tubular space frame and a stunning streamlined body that was developed in a wind tunnel. It was regarded as the most advanced race car of its day. Driver Juan-Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss won 9 of 12 races with the W196 in 1954 and 1955 vefire Mercedes-Benz withdrew from racing.

Fabulous Fiberglass: Painted silver to signify the national racing color of Germany, The body on this Porsche 904 is actually made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. This was Porsche’s first use of the lightweight material, and also their first design featuring a ladder-type chassis. This Porsche found early success in German hill climb events with privateer Joseph “Sepp” Greger at the wheel, and was later owned by noted race team leader Vasek Polak, who upgraded the 904’s 4-cylinder engine to a 6-cylinder powerplant.

Dual-Purpose Drive: The 250 GT SWB was produced fom 1960 to 1962 and became Ferrari’s ultimate dual-purpose grand turismo. Introduced at the 1959 Paris Auto Salon as a competition car, the first SWBs featured lightweight aluminum bodies and race-tuned engines. Ferrari later built a number of steel-bodied SWBs with slightly de-tuned engines, such as this example, for road use. All versions were powered by a 3.0-liter, V-12 engine with dual overhead camshafts and three Weber carburetors.

In 1951 Nash motor company collaborated with British engineer Donald Healey to produce the Nash Healey, an Anglo-American hybrid that used the chassis of the Healey Silverstone sports car and the six-cylinder engine of the Nash. A mere 104 British-bodied Nash-Healey roadsters were built before a chance meeting between Charles Nash and Battista “Pinin” Farina aboard an ocean liner led to a collaboration that would impact the styling of the entire Nash lineup. Introduced in 1952, the new Pinin Farina designed Nash-Healey combined recognizable styling elements of full-size Nash vehicles with the fleet silhouette popularized by the Italian school.

This custom Tudor exemplifies the nostalgia and artistry that persist in contemporary American hot rod culture. Designers Andy Lowry and Gary Wood were inspired by the fortified but lightweight riveted paneling of midcentury bombers, hearkening back to the golden age of hot rods in the postwar period. In keeping with the aviation design theme, this hot rod features leather bomber seats, an aircraft-style instrument panel, and over 2,500 hand-laid rivets. It is powered by a 1930s 276-cubic inch Ford flathead engine with a Roadrunner Weiand supercharger.

Based on a production 1948 Cadillac Sedanette fastback and inspired by Japanese movie monsters, CadZZilla was one of many custom cars commissioned by Billy F Gibbons, guitarist for the rock band ZZ Top. The striking vehicle is powered by a massive 500 cubic-inch V-8 Cadillac engine and has appeared on covers of numerous magazines and ZZ Top albums.

Though conceived by Jaguar engineers in their spare time, the XJ220 held so much promise that company executives elected to put it into production. Like those of previous Jaguars, the XJ220’s model designation was derived in part from its top speed of 220 miles per hour, the fastest of any production vehicle at the time. Its twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V-6 engine produced 542 horsepower. Acceleration from zero to sixty miles per hour took a mere 3.5 seconds. The declining demand for supercars during the 1990s assured that the market was quickly saturated and a mere 350 of the $678,000 exotic cars were produced.

Of the many cars owned by actor Steve McQueen, this race-bred Jaguar was his favorite. He enjoyed driving the car fast and is reported to have received enough speeding tickets that his driver’s license was almost suspended twice during his first year of ownership. Unhappy with the original white paint and red interior, McQueen had the car repainted an appropriate British racing green and re-trimmed with black 149 MPH leather upholstery.

Time to visit the World’s greatest automotive museum! Located in the heart of Los Angeles, California. Full of cars from every generation known to man. If you have never been or haven’t been, well you are in luck! We have put together a batch of photos of cars that have made a considerable footprint in the automotive world. We won’t necessarily start from the beginning but we will plug in a few to keep it interesting. Enjoy a ride in to the past!

After World War II, Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Gary Davis built a radically engineered car with aircraft-inspired styling, concealed headlights, four-abreast seating, aluminum body construction and the simplicity of three wheels. Touted as the car of the future, only 16 of the highly maneuverable vehicles were built in a hangar at the Van Nuys Airport before production was suspended due to poor management and a lack of capital.

The EV1 was the first modern, mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) built by a major manufacturer. It was ultra aerodynamic, lightweight, had an acceptable commuting range and could be easily driven by the average motorist. Consumers could only lease (not buy the cars from select dealers in California, Arizona and Georgia. After four years of costly production the EV1 was discontinued and all but 40 we dismantled.

Cisitalia was one of several small post-World War II Italian firms to build specialty sports cars using Fiat mechanical parts. The taut lines and low hood of the 202 Coupe’s Pinin Farina-designed body set a new standard for automotive beauty. Considered a work of art in its day, an example was famously acquired by the New York Museum of Modern Art after its inclusion in their landmark 1951 “Eight Automobiles” exhibition.

The Aluma Coupe is a one-of-a-kind custom vehicle built by Southern California car designer Boyd Coddington. It was one of the first modern vehicles to combine the style and feel of a 1950s hot rod with the engineering comfort and refinement of a modern car. This aluminum-bodied vehicle was built as a concept car for Mitsubishi to debut at the 1992 New York International Auto Show.

One of the first film stars to take a pie to the face for laughs, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was a multi-talented comedian, actor and director. He was one of Hollywood’s first wealthy celebrities, signing a then-unheard-of $1 million contract with Paramount Pictures in 1918. Arbuckle’s larger-than-life persona (and bank account) was reflected in his car collection, which included this rare Renault, bodied by Los Angeles-based Earl Automobile Works. Harley Earl, son of EAW founder J.W. Earl, went on to a successful career as head of design at General Motors after working in his father’s shop.

Based on the book by Stephen King, the film Christine follows a possessed Plymouth Fury That wreaks havoc on the life of its owner and those around him. While a total of 24 Plymouth Furys were acquired for production, this was one of only two stunt cars in running condition used during filming. Coded “Muscle Tow,” the stunt car was supposed to be crushed after the movie debuted, but was saved by current owner Martin Sanchez. He used parts from the other Christines to restore the car back to original condition.

In Walt Disney Pictures’ Herbie: Fully Loaded, the endearing Volkswagen that debuted in the 1968 movie The Love Bug returns, transformed into a NASCAR contender. To make sure the racing scenes looked realistic, the Beetle was modified for the track and equipped with an upgraded suspension, full roll cage, disc brakes and Goodyear racing slicks. One of several Herbies built for the film, this example was the car driven by Lindsay Lohan as Maggie Peyton in the racing sequences.

This 1982 Ferrari 308GTSi was the actual car driven by both Tom Selleck and Larry Manetti during the 1982-1983 shooting season of the television detective series Magnum P.I. The driver’s seat was modified to fit six foot, four inch Tom Selleck. The seat rails were relocated and the filler material from the driver’s seat bottom cushion was removed. The mid-engine successor of the Ferrari Dino, the 308GTSi is powered by a fuel injected 3 liter V-8.

1981 DeLorean DMC-12 “Time Machine” Driven in Back to the Future (1985)

Famous for transporting main character Marty McFly back in time, this was the first of three DeLorean Time Machines built for the original Back to the Future movie starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. After appearing in all three films and spending 25 years as a tourist attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Time Machine showed signs of wearing. A skilled team of fans meticulously restored the iconic car, which included replacing the missing flux capacitor, the key component for time travel.

The Mach 5 from the animated television series Speed Racer has been described as the most famous race car in the world, yet it only existed as a two-dimensional cartoon illustration before this fully operational example was constructed. In 2000, this hand-built interpretation of the cartoon Mach 5 completed a nationwide automotive safety tour sponsored by the Child Safety Network. The Speed Racer Motors organization then unveiled plans to build a series of 100 road-ready replicas based on front-engine Corvette platforms, but few were made.

Conceived by director Christopher Nolan, the Batpod provided a two-wheel alternative to Batman’s usual mode of transportation. It was designed to be operated with the rider in a prone position and features a custom chassis with Hoosier racing tires and a braking system operated by controls on the left handle and right pedal. One of six built for use in The Dark Knight by Christian Bale (Batman), it was later used in The Dark Knight Rises by Anne Hathaway (Catwoman).

Almost 20 feet in length, the Batmobile was based on the platform of a 1967 Chevrolet Impala found in London. It was powered by a 327-cubic-inch V-8 Chevrolet engine mounted low in the frame. Rolls-Royce jet engine components were used to form the hood-mounted intake, and turbine blades in the nose piece were sourced from a British Harrier fighter jet. This example was one of five cars authorized by the studio for promotional purposes.

Secretly fabricated entirely by hand in the Yamaha factory in Shizuoka, Japan, the 2000GT represented Toyota’s earliest attempt to make a sports car that could rival European supercars like Lamborghini and Porsche. The 2000GT was introduced in 1965 at the Tokyo Motor Show and special racing versions quickly claimed three world endurance records. Its performance-oriented, two-liter twin-cam six-cylinder engine produced a remarkable 149 horsepower.

Ever wondered what it is like being inside the Museum of the Year? Wonder no more. A few weeks ago I visited the Los Angeles area and I just happen to have had the Petersen Automotive Museum on my bucket list. Touring this Automotive facility since it’s makeover not too long ago has been magnificent. Going through each level (there are three levels); car by car (there are hundreds of them) was like walking through a never ending gear head dream. Before I lay out all the pictures on one post I’ll show them a few pictures at a time. The Car eye candy preview starts here!

1982 Ferrari 308 GTSI – Can you believe Tom Selleck was able to fit in to this car?

1967 Toyota 2000GT – The word “Classic” is an understatement to the fire starter that is the “86”.

#95 Lightning McQueen – If you have not seen the “Cars” animated movie then go see it now!

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spider – Put together Le Mans and Ferrari together and you have gotten a winner in the North American Racing Team.

1992 Jaguar XJ220 – Known as the “World’s Fastest Cat.”

1994 Bugatti EB 110 Super Sport Le Mans – Your modern day Bugatti of today started with this one from Ettore Bugatti.

Behold the magnificence that is the Auto Con! This is our first time to an Auto Con event, this particular event being hosted inside of Formula Drift in the streets of Long Beach, boy was it filled with eye candy! Auto Con’s mission is to be one of the most innovative automotive events in the nation. What you will find in these pictures below will have builds that are truly extraordinary and out of this world!